La Liga Weekend Roundup: Sevilla continues to drop points, Barcelona thumps Real Madrid at the Bernabeu
Barcelona’s commendable resurgence under Xavi continues as his team smashed the table-toppers Real Madrid away from home. While a league charge could seem too late, this could be a sign of what to expect from Barca next season?
Athletic Club 1-1 Getafe
Athletic Club and Getafe kicked off the La Liga matchday 29. The away side came into this fixture desperate for a win with four draws and one loss in their last five. Their intent paid off early as Enes Unal gave them the lead within the first 3 minutes.
The header was the Turk’s 14th league goal of the season. What followed was a rapid response from Marcelino’s side. After making a couple of brilliant saves, David Soria was finally beaten by a thumping strike from Yuri Berchie. The second half saw some game-changing VAR calls which included a red card to Jorge Cuenca. Nevertheless, the game ended all square at 1-1
Alaves 2-3 Granada
Alaves vs Granada certainly lived up to the tag of a ‘relegation six (6) pointer’. The home team missed a glorious opportunity to go ahead as Joselu saw his penalty saved in the first half. Sergio Escudero scored an absolute screamer in the second half to give Granada the lead.
The home side rallied and got two goals in quick succession via Gonzalo Escalante and Manu Vallejo. Torrecilla’s men kept their heads up and found the equaliser in the 79th-minute through Antonio Puertas. With three minutes of normal time to go, Granada managed to capitalise on Granada’s comical defending, to make it 2-3.
Elche 0-1 Valencia
Valencia’s exciting rebuild under Jorge Bordalas continued as his team picked another three (3) points on the road. They were hosted by Elche who was just hovering over the drop zone. As expected the away side created a flurry of chances early in the game.
Goncalo Guedes was given a glorious opportunity by Elche which he failed to convert. However, the Portuguese came out firing in the second half and opened the scoring in the 50th minute with a scrappy finish. Jorge Bordalas’ side managed to see out the game comfortably as Johan Mojica was sent off for Elche late in the added time.
Osasuna 3-1 Levante
It was always going to be a comfortable evening for Osasuna who hosted the bottom side Levante. The home side looked like the favourites to score and so they did late in the first half. Ezequiel Avila smashed one in to break the deadlock.
The second goal came after Levante made an absolute circus of a free-kick which saw their goalkeeper running towards his goal and Ante Budimir made it 2-0. The visitors got their equaliser after Brasanac made it 3-0 for Osasuna with the game ending 3-1.
Rayo Vallecano 0-1 Atletico Madrid
Club captain Koke celebrates his first league goal of the season
With a recent upsurge in their league form and knocking Manchester United out of the Champions League, Atletico Madrid travelled to Real Vallecano with their heads up high and the home side came into this being winless in the league in their last five games.
Diego Simeone’s side was happy to let their opponents have the ball without creating anything of significance. The away side broke the deadlock early in the second half with a curler from Koke and the Madrid-based team managed the game out despite Angel Correa sending off in the second half.
Espanyol 1-0 Mallorca
Espanyol came into this with their heads up high after getting the three points last matchday. Mallorca on the other hand lost their last league games. A win for the away side would lift them above the drop zone. Apart from a couple of half-chances, the visitors offered next to nothing. Espanyol broke the deadlock just 3 minutes before half-time as Raul De Tomas scored his 14th league goal of the season.
Mallorca gave it a go in the second half. However, Oier Olazabal who was subbed in at half-time made some crucial saves. In the end, Espanyol sealed back to back three points in their quest for safety while Mallorca missed another chance to get out of the drop zone.
Cadiz 1-0 Villareal
After their UEFA Champions League heroics, Villareal had the chance to put an end to their inconsistent league form as they travelled to Cadiz. To everyone’s surprise, Unai Emery did not look threatening enough to score the goal.
It felt that Cadiz would open the scoring anytime soon. Nevertheless, the visitors almost managed to hold on for a point before Ruben Sobrino scored in the 90th minute to seal the three points for the home side. The crucial goal also managed to pull Cadiz out of the relegation zone and a point above Mallorca.
Celta Vigo 0-0 Real Betis
Real Betis’ quest for staying in the top 6 faced another challenge in the form of Celta Vigo and the match was pretty evenly balanced with both sides having their fair share of attacking spells.
The game ended all square with the home side’s three shots on target to Betis’ one. While the three points would have temporarily placed Pellegrini’s men in the top four, they would certainly take this point given their injury status.
Sevilla 0-0 Real Sociedad
After their disappointing exit from the UEFA Europa League, Sevilla had the opportunity to put things right in the league. However, the home side looked jagged and knackered the whole game and failed to even muster a single shot on target.
Real Sociedad on the other hand always looked likely to score but couldn’t. The visitors would have been disappointed coming out of this with just a single point.
Real Madrid 0-4 Barcelona
The El Clasico closed this La Liga match week. Despite what the scoreline suggests, Carlo Ancelloti’s men started strongly and created some good chances. However, it was Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who broke the deadlock heading in from a Dembele cross.
What followed was complete domination of the ball and more goals from Aubameyang, Ferran Torres and Araujo and a first win for the Catalan side in the El Clasico since 2019.